By James Slater: Heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko is already searching for his next challenger, and the Ring Magazine, WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO ruler has said he plans on fighting again before the end of the year. The 35-year-old, in an interview with The Guardian, also stated how unbeaten British heavyweight champ Dereck Chisora is “one of the logical opponents” for him to face.
Klitschko says he likes the idea of taking his next fight in either Ukraine or London, and that he will wait to see what happens when Chisora and fellow unbeaten Tyson Fury clash in the nation’s capitol on July 23rd. Klitschko may even be at the event, having been given an invitation. Needless to say, the presence of the best big man on the planet will increase the importance of Chisora-Fury.
According to the piece in The Guardian, there are a few other names on “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” shortlist; including Chris Arreola, Alexander Povetkin (presumably only if the unbeaten Russian gets past former WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev next month) and the unbeaten Denis Boytsov. Not a bad bunch of prospective challengers for Wladimir, even if he would be made a big betting favourite over each of them.
But It does seem as though Wladimir is favouring facing the winner of the British title clash.
“I came to London for a press conference a couple of weeks ago and I received such warmness and awareness from the British fans,” he said. “It was pretty significant that we [the Klitschko brothers] have a fan base here in the U.K so it makes sense to fight in the U.K as well.
“I will be fighting again this year. We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks, who’s coming up and also the result of Chisora-Fury fight. Chisora would be one of the logical opponents for me.”
Of course, 27-year-old “Del Boy” was twice in line to fight Klitschko, only to see his big chance fall through on both occasions due to injury on the part of the champion. In the interest of doing what’s right, Wladimir should look to give Chisora his chance at last. But what if Fury does as he has been boasting he will and beats Chisora a week on Saturday? Trained by Emanuel Steward, who of course coaches Wladimir, this conflict of interest could hamper Fury’s chances of landing his dream fight. Which guy’s corner would Steward work in if Fury fought Wlad?
Personally, I feel Chisora will defeat Fury in an entertaining battle at Wembley, and if I’m right he could then be fighting the best heavyweight on the planet in his very next fight. The Chisora-Fury winner aside, I’d like to see the always-exciting Chris Arreola get a crack at Wladimir.
The good thing is the world’s number-one wants to stay active. So with Vitali defending his WBC crown against Tomasz Adamek in September, fans will get at least two more Klitschko fights in 2011.